Letters From Siberia
by georgedrumz93
Summary: War has broken out between China and Russia over the vast, resource-rich area of Siberia. As the Chinese push the Russians back into their own nation, they appeal to the U.S. as a last-ditch measure. Cpl. Thomas Klein, a SAW gunner in the US Army's 10th Mountain Division, is part of that last-ditch measure. What he is about to face will change him forever and define a generation.
1. The Fear

May 10th, 2013

Nobody knows how the hell I was dragged into this mess.

Well, nobody except God, at least.

To say that I did not expect this would be the understatement of the century. I had planned to do my four years, and leave. Go back to college, pick up my master's in political science (as was originally planned before I dropped out), settle down again. Finally. Find a wife, have a kid, and die old with no regrets. Or so I hoped it would be _something_ like that.

Shit. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

Now I'm huddled inside a C-27. I haven't slept more than 4 hours nightly since I went back to New York on leave, almost 9 months ago. Haven't eaten a semi-decent meal since…fuck me, since God knows when. Tired, hungry, cold. And I haven't even seen any combat yet.

Word is, the Chinese are about to overrun the Russians once and for all. How the hell the Russians managed to hold off the fuck-knows-how-many million enemies spewing across the Ussuri River. It's like putting a band-aid on a stab wound.

Command is telling us that we will likely face heavy casualties. The Russians were caught with their pants around their ankles, and most of their air force and navy were lit the fuck up. Those that managed to escape either went towards Europe or flew over the Pacific to Japan or Alaska. As is, the Russians are regrouping almost 250,000 men in Alaska itself. Col. Stafford projects that upwards of 10,000 of us are gonna die. The Russians already say about 75,000 of their own have died or gotten fucked up. No word on the Chinese. My guess? Half a million.

So now we're en route to Vladivostok. The Chinese got almost all of eastern Russia by the balls. The only reason the Chinese didn't overrun all of Siberia is 'cause they pushed so far ahead that their supply lines almost cracked. Vladivostok is under siege. Looks like Stalingrad all over again. Shit.

Y'know, I'm really not too scared. As fucked up of a thing as that is to say, I really couldn't give a shit about whether I live or die. Maybe enduring organized insanity for 3 years has turned me into a nihilist. I hope not.

I am scared, though, for the guys I'm with. I know that a lot of 'em are shit-scared. Cold, alone, a million miles from home. Still kids, really. Sad.

God, do me a favor, and keep me safe.

Shit. Door's open. Wish me luck. If I don't come back, tell Ryan to go fuck himself.

Klein, out.

Cpl. Thomas Klein

2-22

1st BCT 10th Mountain Division

US Army

Ft. Drum, NY 13602


	2. The Drop

We landed in the dead of night.

The feeling of my chute opening is, I gotta say, one of the best feelings possible.

There is something to be said about the beauty of a nighttime drop. Light from the moon and the occasional tracer illuminates the drop zone like some surreal movie shit. All those white chutes like pearls hovering in the night sky.

Beautiful, really.

I hit the ground and sunk into the ground almost immediately. It was muddy. When I landed, it was as if I was dick-deep in mud. Muck, filth, and the smell of powder. My kind of environment.

I linked up with Sgt. Kohl. Kohl's a funny ass guy; he joined the Army to get money for school. Apparently, though, Mr. Lawyer-in-training felt service was a sure fire way to employment. Too bad he didn't foresee up being dropped into some muddy shithole. Whatever. Kohl's a good guy. Born leader, great at motivating his men, easygoing guy yet fair when he needs to be. A soldier's soldier.

All of 2nd Squad has been accounted for. Pvt. Mangini's chute didn't deploy properly and he twisted his angle on the drop. He should be ok, he's walking on it, nothing too serious. Thank God we haven't run into too much trouble yet. The Chinese have been stalled, and so they dug in. Now we do the same and wait for the counterattack to begin.

I gotta go soon. Tell mommy and daddy that I'm alive for the moment.

Tommy

Cpl. Thomas Klein

2-22

1st BCT 10th Mountain Division

US Army

Ft. Drum, NY 13602


	3. The Dying

We got our first taste of combat today.

We also had our first death today.

Our unit was tasked with clearing out a forward emplacement that the Chinese were using to direct mortar fire on our guys as they were moving through Kamyshovo. We got up on the hill under the cover of darkness and opened up on them. Killed a bunch of them before they fled into the forest. We chased them down and before long, we had ourselves a full-blown firefight.

The guy next to me, Cpl. Ben Harris, was on his SAW putting down hot lead into a rocky outcrop that some Chinese fled into, trying to suppress the fuck out of them as we moved up and flanked 'em. We never saw the sniper lying 50 meters in front of us. We heard a crack, and I saw Ben fall to the floor. Jacobsen and Peralta went over to get him, but, fuck…Ben was dead before he hit the floor. Took an AP round to the throat. Got him in between the neck and the top of his vest. Went straight through his spine.

Dead in an instant. At least it was painless…I hope.

We picked up his SAW and continued firing. After a while, the Chinese gave up and walked out with their hands over their helmets. They looked like a bunch of fucking kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Fucking bullshit. I wanted to gun them down where those fucks stood, but I couldn't. Gotta play nice, win their hearts and minds and all that pink shit.

It's been three days. Already, Harris is dead. Mangini, Walters, Zarkowski, Meija, Pfundstein, and Yeoh are injured. Civil got fucked up by a bullet to the dome, and he's on his way to Germany.

Welp, looks like shit finally hit the fan.

If anything, I'm not scared, I'm pissed. I want to fucking kill the guys who killed Harris.

I want to make them fucking pay.

Tommy

Cpl. Thomas Klein

2-22

1st BCT 10th Mountain Division

US Army

Ft. Drum, NY 13602


End file.
